Key Stage 2 design and technology · Cooking and nutrition

KS2 healthy and varied diet: a guide for parents

In Key Stage 2 design and technology, children learn the principles of a healthy and varied diet and then use them when they cook. They move on from sorting foods into “good” and “bad” to understanding food groups, what nutrients do for the body, and how to balance a meal or a day of eating. It matters because they start to make more of their own food choices from about this age.

Healthy and varied diet, explained

The central idea is balance and variety. No single food gives the body everything it needs, so a healthy diet draws on several food groups in sensible proportions. Schools usually teach this with a plate-style guide showing roughly how much of the day’s food should come from each group: plenty of fruit and vegetables, plenty of starchy foods such as potatoes, bread, rice and pasta (wholegrain where possible), some dairy foods or alternatives, some beans, pulses, fish, eggs and meat or other protein foods, and only small amounts of oils and spreads. Foods high in fat, salt and sugar sit outside the main groups and are for occasional, small amounts.

Children in Years 3 to 6 also learn that nutrients do different jobs. Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of energy. Protein is needed for growth and for repairing the body. Fats give energy and help the body use some vitamins. Vitamins and minerals keep the body working well: calcium, found in dairy foods, helps build strong bones and teeth, and iron, found in beans, leafy green vegetables and red meat, helps the blood carry oxygen. Fibre, found in wholegrain foods, fruit and vegetables, helps digestion, and water is needed for almost everything the body does. Children are not expected to memorise long lists, only to link common foods to what they do.

Variety is part of the principle, not just balance. Eating a range of colours of fruit and vegetables, different kinds of protein and a mix of starchy foods gives a wider spread of nutrients, and it widens the foods a child will accept. Teachers also talk about reading a food label to compare products, noticing the amounts of fat, sugar and salt, and understanding that a food’s package can make it sound healthier than it is.

The programme of study ties this to cooking: children are taught to apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating when they prepare food, not only to know them. Typically they plan a dish, check it against the food groups, and change it. They might add vegetables to a sauce, choose wholemeal flour, or cut back on salt. Schools choose the dishes and the teaching tools, so what your child brings home will vary, but the underlying principles are the same everywhere.

It is worth saying what this topic does not do. It is not about weight, dieting or labelling foods as “good” or “bad”, and good teaching avoids that language. Children are taught that all foods can fit into a varied diet, that some are best eaten often and others less often, and that enjoying food is part of a healthy relationship with it.

Words your child will hear

Balanced diet: Eating the right amounts of different food groups so the body gets what it needs.
Nutrient: A substance in food that the body uses, such as protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins and minerals.
Carbohydrate: The main source of energy, found in foods like bread, rice, pasta, potatoes and fruit.
Protein: A nutrient needed for growth and repair, found in foods like fish, eggs, meat, beans and lentils.
Fibre: Plant material the body cannot digest but needs to keep the gut healthy, found in wholegrains, fruit and vegetables.
Portion: An amount of food that is a sensible serving, for example a handful of grapes or a medium apple.
Nutrition label: The information on a packet showing what is in the food, including fat, sugar and salt.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 2 says:

Pupils should be taught to understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet
As part of their work with food, pupils should be taught how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: improving a packed lunch

A child’s packed lunch is a white bread cheese sandwich, a packet of crisps, a chocolate bar and a carton of sugary juice. Use the principles of a healthy and varied diet to improve it, keeping the foods the child likes where you can.

Sort what is there into food groups. The bread is starchy food, the cheese is a dairy food (and a source of protein and calcium), the crisps are a fatty, salty snack, the chocolate is a sugary treat and the juice is a sugary drink.
Look for what is missing. There is no fruit or vegetable at all, very little fibre because the bread is white, and three items high in fat, salt or sugar.
Swap before you remove. Change white bread to wholemeal for more fibre, and add salad such as cucumber or tomato inside the sandwich. Keep the cheese because it gives protein and calcium.
Add fruit or vegetables on the side, such as grapes, a clementine or carrot sticks. Replace the juice with water, or milk if it can be kept cool, since drinks are an easy place to cut sugar.
Keep a small treat if the child wants one. Swap the crisps for plain popcorn or a rice cake on most days, and keep a small bag of crisps or a small piece of chocolate for some days, so the lunch is varied and still enjoyable.

A wholemeal cheese and salad sandwich, a piece of fruit, vegetable sticks, water and one small treat. It covers starchy food, dairy (with protein from the cheese), fruit and vegetables and more fibre, it cuts the sugary drink, and it is still food the child will actually eat.

Common mistakes and how to help

Believing foods are either “healthy” or “unhealthy”

Posters and advertising often use simple labels, so children sort foods into two piles. A cheese sandwich or a bowl of pasta would be unfairly put in the wrong one.

What helps: Talk about “everyday foods” and “sometimes foods”, and about the whole meal or day. Ask, “What does this food give us?” rather than “Is this good or bad?”

Thinking fat is always bad for you

Children hear “low fat” and “cut down on fat” and assume fat should be avoided entirely.

What helps: Explain that the body needs some fat for energy and to use certain vitamins. The point is the amount and type: a little oil on vegetables is fine, while lots of fried or fatty snacks every day is not.

Assuming juice, smoothies or “fruity” snacks count as plenty of fruit

The word “fruit” on a package suggests the product is as good as a whole piece of fruit, but drinks and bars often contain a lot of sugar and little fibre.

What helps: Compare a whole orange with a glass of orange juice. Talk about how several oranges are squeezed to make one glass, how the juice loses most of the fibre, and why juice and smoothies count as one of the day’s portions of fruit and vegetables at most, however much is drunk. Then look at the sugar on the label of a fruit bar or smoothie.

Believing a healthy diet means cutting out whole food groups

Children hear adults talk about avoiding bread, dairy or carbohydrates and conclude these foods are harmful.

What helps: Explain that each food group has a job, and variety is the principle. If a child or family avoids a food for allergy, health or belief reasons, talk about which other foods do the same job.

How to help at home

Build a plate together. At a meal, ask your child to name which food groups are on the plate and which are missing. Let them suggest a swap or an addition, such as adding sweetcorn, a salad or a piece of fruit afterwards.
Read labels in the shop. Pick two similar products, such as two breakfast cereals or two yoghurts, and compare what is in them. Ask your child which has more sugar or salt, and let them decide which to buy.
Try one new food in a safe, low-pressure way. Offer a small amount of a new fruit, vegetable or pulse alongside foods they already like. Variety is part of the principles, and children often need many tries without any pressure before they accept something.
Let them plan one meal a week. Ask your child to choose a main dish and check it against the food groups with you. They can help by washing vegetables and cutting soft ingredients with a table knife, while an adult does anything hot or sharp.
Talk about what food does. Link foods to jobs in simple terms: “Beans and eggs help your body grow and repair”, “Wholegrain bread gives you energy for a long time.” Short, regular comments stick better than a long lecture.

Builds on

Key Stage 1: Healthy and varied diet
Key Stage 1: Where food comes from

Leads on to

Key Stage 3: Nutrition and healthy eating
Key Stage 3: Cooking savoury dishes
Key Stage 3: Kitchen skills and techniques
Key Stage 3: Seasoning and adapting recipes
Key Stage 3: Source, season and ingredient properties